Lakers hire Mark Madsen as player development coach

The Los Angeles Lakers have hired Mark Madsen and Larry Lewis of the Los Angeles D-Fenders as player development coaches, it was announced today by Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

“Both Mark and Larry bring a high level of credibility to our staff,” said Lakers Head Coach Mike D’Antoni. “Mark has endless energy and is a workaholic. He’s developed players at the college level and I think he’ll do a great job making the jump to the NBA. Larry has proven to be a natural at helping develop players for the D-Fenders since transitioning from nearly two decades of playing abroad and in the CBA. We expect that he will make a great player development coach at the NBA level as well.”

“While we were looking forward to having Mark as our head coach for the upcoming season, we’re thrilled that he now has the opportunity to help further develop players on the Lakers roster,” said D-Fenders President & CEO Joey Buss. “Both he and Larry, who has done a tremendous job working with our players over the past two seasons, are perfect examples of what the D-Fenders are all about; namely developing talent. Having sent eight players to the NBA over the past two seasons, we’re excited to now see the synergy of the Lakers and D-Fenders pay off in the coaching ranks as well.”

Roughly ten years after his final game with the Lakers, fan favorite Mark Madsen returns to the franchise for his first season as player development coach. Selected by the Lakers in the first round (29th overall) of the 2000 NBA Draft, Madsen played three seasons in Los Angeles (2000-03) and was a member of back-to-back NBA championship teams in 2001 and 2002. He then signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves as a free agent prior to the 2003-04 campaign and played six seasons (2004-09) with the Timberwolves. In 453 games over nine seasons, Madsen averaged 2.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 11.8 minutes.

Following his playing career, Madsen served as an assistant coach during the 2009-10 seasons with the Utah Flash of the NBA Developmental League before returning to his alma mater, Stanford University, to complete coursework for his MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In 2012, he was named as an assistant coach on Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins’ staff and spent the 2012-13 season working primarily with the team’s post players.

Lewis joins the Lakers after spending the last two seasons with the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Most recently, Lewis spent the 2012-13 season as an assistant coach with the D-Fenders. Prior to his stint as an assistant coach, Lewis was head of player development, a role in which he helped develop eight NBA Call-Ups along with six players on assignment from the Lakers. Additionally, Lewis played a central role in helping the team post the best regular season record (38-12) in NBA D-League history, earn the Regular Season Champion award, reach first NBA D-League Finals in team history, and capture the Development Champion award. Lewis also earned a spot as an assistant on the NBA D-League Select Team in 2012.

An alumnus of Morehouse College, Lewis turned pro when he was selected by the Albany Patroons of the CBA in 1992. The 6’7” forward played internationally in Argentina (2011), Spain (2001-2011), Japan (1996- 2001), Cyprus (1996), Great Britain (1993) and the Dominican Republic (1992). Lewis also played a season in the USBL with Sarasota (1996), in the CBA with the Harrisburg Hammerheads and Rapid City Thrillers (1994-95), and for Team USA (1995) in the Pan American Games where he won a silver medal.